On Chicago’s South Side 60 years ago Jacob Portis proved better at raising a family than at selling real estate: his eight boys had to sell newspapers. Milton Portis, the eldest (now 62), worked his way through medical school. The two youngest, Bernard and Sidney (now 42 and 45), were put through by their older brothers. Three others, Isadore, Arnold and Theodore, went to work for a hat firm and in 1914 they and the remaining two brothers, Lyon and Henry, set up Portis Brothers Hat Co. They had $23,000 to start with, half borrowed from Dr. Milton, half from, others.
Came the War. First their business dwindled, then they got established. Today Portis Brothers makes about 1,000,000 hats a year, ranks about tenth in the industry. Last week at its 25th annual meeting Treasurer Henry Portis announced that its capital stood at $400,000, its surplus at $100,000, its 1938 net at $39,000. Its profits do not make Portis Brothers Hat Co. big business, but its management is unique.
Soon after the five Portis boys formed their firm, they decided to run the company on the basis of all for one, one for all. For 25 years, they have drawn identical salaries. Each took a title for the sake of convention, but each has an equal voice in the management. Today they are as indistinguishable as five hats on a closet shelf. All are stocky, all about five-feet-ten.
Not only the five hatters but their three doctor brothers, 82-year-old mother and three sisters live within eight blocks of each other. Six of the Portis clan drive Buicks. All have bridge and golf as hobbies. The four who work in the Chicago plant drive there together, arriving sharply at 8:15. Seven of the brothers have two children apiece. One has three. In 25 years they have hardly ever disagreed. Says Henry proudly: “We put business ahead of profits and it worked.”
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